Everyday, with each new e-mail we receive, every link we click, every joke we read and forward, and every site we visit… we have the potential to lose many hours of valuable time. The Internet is so global in reach, and so deep in content that it’s very easy to be distracted, and lose all sense of time and focus. This can be very stressful. So, we must be aware of those distractions, and focus on primary tasks that will increase our bottom lines of productivity.

Internet time management is essential if we are to be successful in our marketing efforts. After all, isn’t that why we have a computer, and an online presence? Aren’t we online to increase our sales? If we are to raise our productivity level, we must force ourselves to look at practical ways to be using our time more effectively. We must place a value on our time, determine what’s it worth, and act accordingly. This is not that difficult to do, and we can accomplish this in a few easy prioritized steps. Once we develop a routine, and stick to it, reclaiming the lost hours will be easy.

Lets take a look at several areas in which most of us spend many hours of our day.

e-Mail

Many of us receive more e-mail correspondence each day then we care to look at, read and respond to. Our first step is prioritizing, and sorting out the e-mail as it arrives. Let’s pretend we are working in a company mailroom, handling real mail. We must ask ourselves, how could we handle the volume most efficiently. Without hesitation, we need to toss the junk mail, and then sort the important mail manner by topic. (This is the stage for incoming e-mail where you have spam filters or message rules in place, and use a blocked senders list for unwanted emails.) The remainder of e-mail will be sorted by viewing the content, and determining immediately if it is junk, or business related. Keep it simple, just keep or delete with one click of the mouse! The remaining mails should be sorted in a prioritized category. You will find the use of creating folders in our mailbox an invaluable tool for organizing and easy reference once it is sorted: buyers, sellers, relocation inquiries, more information requests, and other important items. Then, just respond as needed. This should be a routine scheduled task performed several times each day.

Internet browsing

Next, we must place priorities on where should effectively spend our time while we are on the Web. If we don’t do this, then it’s easy to feel that we worked hard all day… but we did not accomplish anything. Did you ever hear “Gee, where did the time go?” at the office! Surfs up, but you missed the wave! Browsing the Internet aimlessly can give new meaning to the term, “Lost in space!” It is totally nonproductive, and so it is wise to prioritize our tasks, and leave the least important Web browsing for the later part of the day, when there is more time to pursue them. So before logging online to the PC’s and the Internet, a few questions can help us keep our focus and our priorities inline.

We must ask ourselves:

1. Why am I going there?
2. What am I looking for?
3. Is this for business or pleasure?
4. What answers do I need to find?
5. Where is the best place to find it?
6. How long should I allow myself?

Since most real estate agents are independent contractors, we are accountable to ourselves only. An employer does not manage our work schedules. We set our own pace. We are not paid by the hour, but compensated when our deals close! That is a double-edged sword, and we alone are to blame if we are not profitable! It’s a scary thought! So if you are having trouble in this area, then it is time to create a prioritized to do list for your online browsing time.

It is best to categorize this list by the importance of the task. Remember, not every item can be a priority, and the focus should be on treating this list as a daily task, and develop a regular routine for online browsing. A great tip to prioritize our needs is to estimate the business benefits they will yield. If we are effective in streamlining our organized tasks, then we will also reduce the stress from an overwhelmed, overburdened and out of control because you do not have a system in place.

When using a “To Do List” it is important to:

1. Carry out all tasks on the list in order of most importance to least.
2. Take care of the most pressing items immediately.
3. Do not waste time. Do not allow yourself to be distracted
4. Keep items in a proper time frame; determine the time to be spent on each task.
5. Avoid websites and chat rooms that are not real estate related.

Some additional general tips for staying productive online, and managing your Internet time effectively are:

• Use a high speed connection to connect to the Internet whenever possible (valuable time is lost with slow connectivity!)
• Avoid slow loading sites; move on to the next site immediately.
• Streamline your e-mail reading process.
• Set aside several times a day to check your e-mail messages.
• Discard unwanted emails jokes, or solicitations at once.
• Use of filters or message rules, or block senders for unwanted e-mail.
• Sort and prioritize all remaining e-mail in relevant folders.
• Avoid chat rooms unless they are job or industry related.
• Browse and surf the Internet with a purpose.
• Take an Internet course at local school or real estate board.
• Avoid visiting adult sites with pop-up windows and malicious scripts.
• Avoid free-ware download sites that may include spyware, malicious scripts, or viruses (an infected computer is a costly, and avoidable loss!)
• Update virus software as often as possible.
• Integrate time management for your Internet use.
• Create online folders of favorite sites so you don’t have to find them again.

Published: October 8, 2002

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Jim Crawford, ABR, e-PRO 500 is currently licensed as a Broker Associate with RE/MAX Paramount Properties in Atlanta Georgia, and as a Broker Associate with Prudential PenFed Realty Fairfax Virginia. Jim and his wife Ellen work as a husband and wife team in the northern Atlanta suburbs, and have recently expanded their web business to Northern Virginia and Maryland. As the team's rainmaker, Jim is a self-taught webmaster and designer, and he relies exclusively on the Internet for marketing. He is considered an expert on marketing, nationwide relocation, cutting edge technology, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for real estate, and Internet marketing. Jim's seminars, online contributions, and technology ideas assist real estate agents to maximize their business results, and raise the industry's professional service level skills. His common sense marketing ideas have been published and quoted regularly in trade publications. He has also consulted and advised NAR offices regarding Internet issues, and Internet ethics for Realtors. In between sales, Jim is a popular speaker at national and regional real estate seminars, REBAR Camps, Blogging seminars and retreats. Jim is a major proponent and advocate of online ethics and the development of social media policies. He is also an online real estate coach, with a self-tutorial coaching site for real estate professionals for webs and Blogging. Jim was a featured speaker at the November 2004 National Association of REALTORS® convention in Orlando, and has spoken at the several REALTORS® conventions both in the United States and Canada. Visit his website at RealEstateTechCoach.com, or e-mail him at .